HB634: HB634 Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Act; expedited completion of a student's first Individualized Education Program; revise provisions

Georgia's Special Needs Scholarship Act (O.C.G.A. § 20-2-2116) lets eligible students with disabilities use state scholarship money at private schools, with the amount based on services listed in the student's Individualized Education Program (IEP). This bill addresses a gap: when a student's first IEP is expedited but isn't finished by the time enrollment counts are taken, the state currently has no clear method for setting that student's scholarship amount. The bill says the initial scholarship amount for such a student should be based on the IEP once it takes effect, then recalculated at the next enrollment count. It also requires the department to send scholarship payments electronically into a participating school's account when possible, rather than only by mailed check, and to develop a compliance form schools must complete and certify. The department must post the basic per-student cost estimate and, by July 15 each year, tell parents the actual scholarship amount, with a 30-day window for parents to challenge incorrect calculations. The annual report to the legislature must also cover students' medical or behavioral conditions.

• Sets a specific method for calculating the scholarship amount of a student whose first IEP (Individualized Education Program, a special education plan) was expedited but not finished by the enrollment count date.
• Requires the Department of Education to electronically deposit scholarship payments into a participating school's account when the parent has endorsed the payment, instead of relying only on mailed checks.
• Requires the department to create and use a compliance form that participating schools must complete and certify as accurate.
• Requires the department to post the basic per-student cost estimate and to notify parents of actual scholarship amounts no later than July 15 each year.
• Gives parents 30 days to request a department review if they believe a student's program weights were reported incorrectly, and requires a department response within 30 days.
• Adds medical or behavioral conditions that participating schools accommodate to the information included in the program's required annual report to the General Assembly.

Families of students with disabilities who receive Georgia Special Needs Scholarships, private schools that participate in the program, the Department of Education and the Office of Student Achievement, which administer and report on the program, and local school systems whose enrollment data feeds into scholarship calculations.

Families whose child's first special education plan is delayed would get a clearer, defined path to a scholarship amount instead of an unresolved gap. Schools would receive payments electronically more often, and parents would gain a specific 30-day process to dispute an incorrect scholarship calculation.

• Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 20-2-2116(a) so that a student whose first IEP was expedited under § 20-2-2114 but not yet in effect at the enrollment count gets an initial scholarship based on the IEP once it takes effect, later revised at the next count.
• Section 1 also revises § 20-2-2116(f) to require electronic deposit of restrictively endorsed payments into a participating school's account, with mailed checks used only if electronic deposit is not possible.
• Section 2 revises § 20-2-2117(a) and (b) to require the department to develop a compliance form for participating schools and to conduct an annual parent satisfaction survey with publicly reported numerical results.
• Section 2 requires the department to post the basic unit cost for instructional programs and to give parents actual scholarship amounts no later than July 15 each year, contingent on state funding being appropriated.
• Section 2 gives parents 30 calendar days after receiving their scholarship amount to request a department review of allegedly incorrect program weights, with a required 30-day department response.
• Section 3 revises § 20-2-2118 to require the annual report to the General Assembly to include the medical or behavioral conditions participating schools accommodate, alongside existing demographic data.

1. 2026-03-31Senate Tabled (Senate)
2. 2026-03-23Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
3. 2026-03-20Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
4. 2026-02-26Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
5. 2026-02-25House Passed/Adopted (House)
6. 2026-02-25House Third Readers (House)
7. 2026-02-20House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
8. 2025-02-28House Second Readers (House)

• Carter Barrett (R, HD-024)Primary sponsor
• Rick Townsend (R, HD-179)
• Todd Jones (R, HD-025)
• Rick Jasperse (R, HD-011)
• Jan Jones (R, HD-047)
• Brent Cox (R, HD-028)
• Ed Setzler (R, SD-037)

1. PassedHouse voteFebruary 25, 2026

   168 yea, 0 nay (4 not voting, 5 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #555

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 31, 2026

   39 yea, 10 nay (2 not voting, 3 absent)

   Motion To Table Remaining Legislation On The Rules Calendar: Senate Vote #912

• special needs scholarships
• special education
• school choice funding
• Georgia Department of Education